The Election Commission of India (ECI,) on the 28th of March, said, it might soon announce the results of the probe into Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech about the success of Mission Shakti.
According to the ECI, the Prime Minister violated the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) when he announced the successful test of an anti satellite missile, Mission Shakti.
Brought into effect on the 10th of March, the Model Code of Conduct is a series of rules which prevent the contesting parties from using mass media, including social media, for campaigning, ahead of the elections.
During an announcement on television regarding Mission Shakti, Modi said, after the successful completion of its mission, India is the fourth country in the world to shoot down a satellite in space. Other countries which successfully completed this mission are the United States of America, Russia and China.
The complaint about Modi’s speech violating the MCC was brought to the ECI’s notice after Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, voiced her concern about the violation of the Code. “Today’s announcement is yet another limitless drama and publicity mongering by Modi desperately trying to reap political benefits at the time of election (in April-May),” Banerjee said regarding the issue.
Mamta Banerjee isn’t the only person from an opposition party to express concern regarding Modi’s speech. When the ECI was notified of this, they initially said no special permission was required to pass statements like this. However, after several other people stated the announcement was purely a way to draw more votes and win the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the ECI revised its earlier stance about the issue.
Sandeep Saxena, the Deputy Election Commissioner, said, the ECI asked for a complete statement from Doordarshan and All India Radio about the source of the speech. The ECI stated, it will conduct a probe with a fine tooth comb.
The ECI is likely to announce its verdict about the speech issue, on the 29th of March.
Stay tuned for more updates.
